Alright, so here it goes...this here little guy I noticed has a tad bit of a listening problem. At first I thought it was hard headedness but then I realized these little signs that could mean he could actually be deaf...or partially deaf. When he is asleep in his crate, he won't react to noises unless his sister is in there sleeping with him and SHE reacts or unless the noise is right by his head or I'm running around cleaning. Another thing, when I call him (I do this loudly because of the possible deafness) he looks a different direction and seems extremely confused on where in the world it came from. When he finally sees me he runs to me. He doesn't come running though unless he sees his sister running to me or if I'm bent over patting my leg. Priscilla had figured out what come means in a matter of minutes and he just looks at me like I have ten heads but the patting on the leg is a sure way of getting him to me. Another thing is that he doesn't seem to whine as much as his sister but when he does, oh dear god please get me some Noise cancling ear muffs. He has got to be the loudest puppy I have ever had at the age of 9 weeks. And if I find out he is deaf, do you guys have any web sites or trainers I can contact about training him? I know you have to use some type of sign language with him but is socializing with other dogs or people going to be near to impossible? I have two other dogs and if I have to keep them all in separate rooms and crates I will. I just want to make sure I do everything I can to keep everyone safe and happy and healthy. I am going to take him back to the vet to check those out. He is due for some shots anyways....since last week oh dear I'm so bad

Is he all white on his head and ears? Almost all white head and ear foster dogs I've had come thru have been deaf. We have a few deaf kidos on here, and tons of info on them and training. Member named Stormi is a great one I can think of. Can you try searching some of her posts/topics?

Sydnops wrote:I know you have to use some type of sign language with him but is socializing with other dogs or people going to be near to impossible? I have two other dogs and if I have to keep them all in separate rooms and crates I will. I just want to make sure I do everything I can to keep everyone safe and happy and healthy. I am going to take him back to the vet to check those out. He is due for some shots anyways....since last week oh dear I'm so bad

Since the potential for him being at least partially deaf is quite likely, I'd start linking hand signals to all the commands you are giving your other dogs right now since he is following their lead. The signals do not necessarily have to be ASL based, it's whatever makes sense to you as long as they are clear and consistent is all that really matters. As far as socialization, he's still a puppy so don't let his potential "disability" (I have a hard time calling it that because most days I think my dog's deafness is a positive trait) effect how you treat him or socialize him. He will pick up cues on body language just by playing and socializing that will help fill most the void of him not being able to take audible cues like growling or yelping. I didn't get my dog until she was 3.5 years old and she seemed to have a pretty unstable past. Dog reactivity is the biggest issue I face and I'm sure it had a lot to do with not being properly or frequently socialized when she was young.

I would imagine a vet could probably get a better idea of what his hearing level is like, you would could also experiment with sounds a bit to see what you can learn. In a year and a half the only thing I've found my dog to actually respond to is a referee whistle, and it was just enough for her to perk her ears and look around. She's never even noticed the smoke detector going off. We also had a rubber air hose break 6' away from us in the yard last summer, sounded like a close range gun shot and she didn't notice that either. One thing to pay attention to when he seems to react to noise is how much vibration that noise makes or if there was any visual stimulation linked to it. Deaf dogs seem to tune into vibration really well. Mine notices even the slightest things like the furnace fan cutting in, using an inkjet printer well across the house, the dishwasher, ect. Heck she even loves the vacuum cleaner because it blows warm air.

As resources go, there is always a ton of talk going on at the Deaf Dogs Rock facebook page. It is geared more to networking deaf shelter dogs but there is still lots available to learn if you read back through posts and comments. I actually wish she would make a discussion forum on her website for deafie owners to really get more info out there. Lots of people shy away from deaf dogs, but IMO it is easier than owning a hearing dog once you get the hang of it.

Curly_07 wrote:Is he all white on his head and ears? Almost all white head and ear foster dogs I've had come thru have been deaf. We have a few deaf kidos on here, and tons of info on them and training. Member named Stormi is a great one I can think of. Can you try searching some of her posts/topics?

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Yea. He is all white with a couple of spots on his ears and nose. His eyes are sky blue. I knew we were getting into something crazy the first day I met him. He was making all of the other puppies mad by waking them up and holding on to their ears and back of their necks. He was the trouble maker and I think that's why my boyfriend loved him so much of course.. He was very vocal that day too but the only time he is now is if he knows he's being fed or if he's in the kennel.

Novy wrote:

Sydnops wrote:I know you have to use some type of sign language with him but is socializing with other dogs or people going to be near to impossible? I have two other dogs and if I have to keep them all in separate rooms and crates I will. I just want to make sure I do everything I can to keep everyone safe and happy and healthy. I am going to take him back to the vet to check those out. He is due for some shots anyways....since last week oh dear I'm so bad

Since the potential for him being at least partially deaf is quite likely, I'd start linking hand signals to all the commands you are giving your other dogs right now since he is following their lead. The signals do not necessarily have to be ASL based, it's whatever makes sense to you as long as they are clear and consistent is all that really matters. As far as socialization, he's still a puppy so don't let his potential "disability" (I have a hard time calling it that because most days I think my dog's deafness is a positive trait) effect how you treat him or socialize him. He will pick up cues on body language just by playing and socializing that will help fill most the void of him not being able to take audible cues like growling or yelping. I didn't get my dog until she was 3.5 years old and she seemed to have a pretty unstable past. Dog reactivity is the biggest issue I face and I'm sure it had a lot to do with not being properly or frequently socialized when she was young.

I would imagine a vet could probably get a better idea of what his hearing level is like, you would could also experiment with sounds a bit to see what you can learn. In a year and a half the only thing I've found my dog to actually respond to is a referee whistle, and it was just enough for her to perk her ears and look around. She's never even noticed the smoke detector going off. We also had a rubber air hose break 6' away from us in the yard last summer, sounded like a close range gun shot and she didn't notice that either. One thing to pay attention to when he seems to react to noise is how much vibration that noise makes or if there was any visual stimulation linked to it. Deaf dogs seem to tune into vibration really well. Mine notices even the slightest things like the furnace fan cutting in, using an inkjet printer well across the house, the dishwasher, ect. Heck she even loves the vacuum cleaner because it blows warm air.

As resources go, there is always a ton of talk going on at the Deaf Dogs Rock facebook page. It is geared more to networking deaf shelter dogs but there is still lots available to learn if you read back through posts and comments. I actually wish she would make a discussion forum on her website for deafie owners to really get more info out there. Lots of people shy away from deaf dogs, but IMO it is easier than owning a hearing dog once you get the hang of it.

Thank you! If I have any simple questions ill probably ask you. I have tried the search but I didn't really find what I was looking for. I am doing a lot of research on what to do if he is in fact deaf.

Quite possibly I don't frequent this forum as much as I used to, but I poke around from time to time. I am extremely well aquatinted to raising, training, and living with deaf dogs. If you've got specific questions, I'd be happy to chime in with some advice.

Has he been BAER tested? This is the best way to determine if he is able to hear or not. Many clinics have a simple screening test which will determine yes he can hear or no he cannot (my clinic does this) but universities and specialty centers will have more advanced testing for the in-betweeners.

Misskiwi67 wrote:Has he been BAER tested? This is the best way to determine if he is able to hear or not. Many clinics have a simple screening test which will determine yes he can hear or no he cannot (my clinic does this) but universities and specialty centers will have more advanced testing for the in-betweeners.

I don't think the clinic I work at has that type of technology yet. The man that owns the dang thing (and refuses to retire) is in his 80's. I've read about it but heard it could be kind of pricey and my working minimum wage isn't going to cut it. Just to be safe, I'm probably going to train him like I would a deaf dog then have serious problems in the future. I don't want any behavior problems because I didn't address it early enough.

Stormi wrote:Quite possibly I don't frequent this forum as much as I used to, but I poke around from time to time. I am extremely well aquatinted to raising, training, and living with deaf dogs. If you've got specific questions, I'd be happy to chime in with some advice.

Sydnops wrote:I don't think the clinic I work at has that type of technology yet. The man that owns the dang thing (and refuses to retire) is in his 80's. I've read about it but heard it could be kind of pricey and my working minimum wage isn't going to cut it. Just to be safe, I'm probably going to train him like I would a deaf dog then have serious problems in the future. I don't want any behavior problems because I didn't address it early enough.

The screening test is $80 here, but for the same amount of money you could probably do puppy socialization class or something similar.

A resource I recently acquired thats been helpful in handling is the Sophia Yin DVD set - its for professionals, but if you can find it anyone can understand and make use of the tips within.

I started with the Perfect Puppy in 7 days book/DVD set, and decided to buy the whole DVD set at a recent conference. The Tips for handling workshop DVD is fantastic. I don't know if this is something you could find at your local library to rent or not, but its worth checking into.